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March 31- Alloys maker Carpenter Technology Corp said on Tuesday that it will cut about 10 percent of its salaried workforce, or 200 jobs, to reduce costs amid weak oil and gas prices. Services to oil and gas companies accounted for about 16 percent of Carpenter Technology's adjusted sales in the second quarter ended Dec. 31. Carpenter Technology forecast a loss of...

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HARTFORD, Conn.-- Federal regulators say a pilot study of cancer risks posed to residents near seven nuclear power sites in the United States will update 22- year-old data, but an industry group says the study won't come up with anything new.

NEW YORK, Oct 24- A monthly reading of U.S. private sector employment has been revamped to put it more in line with the closely watched government nonfarm payrolls report. Automatic Data Processing said on Wednesday it had made the changes to its private job market report as part of a new partnership with Moody's Analytics.

BATESVILLE, Ark.-- Peco Foods says it will add 300 jobs in eastern Arkansas by expanding a feed mill in Newark and a processing plant in Batesville. Peco Foods announced the expansion Wednesday alongside local leaders and Gov. Peco Foods is the eighth-largest poultry processor in the United States.

*City seen as bastion of loyalty to Assad before uprising. *Businessmen hit by attacks, kidnapping, extortion. AMMAN, Oct 24- Top Syrian businessman Fares Shehabi says he lives in constant fear of being kidnapped by rebels fighting loyalist forces for control of his home city Aleppo.

DUBAI, Oct 24- Private equity firms in the Middle East are preparing to exit a range of investments, a sign that asset markets in the region are recovering from the twin blows of Arab Spring uprisings and the global financial crisis.

CAIRO, Oct 24- Business has flourished for Cairo's store owners and itinerant street traders since a popular uprising ushered in 20 months of light-touch law enforcement, but the boom-time may soon be over. Some Cairo store workers welcome the prospect of a shorter working day.

Boeing is cranking out planes faster, and it's paying off. Boeing has been speeding up production, aiming to get some of its newest planes out the door faster. Boeing's revenue from commercial planes jumped 28 percent to $12.19 billion in the most recent quarter.

PHILADELPHIA-- A man who drove an SUV onto an airport runway, forcing a passenger jet to abort its landing, was sentenced Wednesday to 16 months in prison and must pay $92,000 in restitution. Kenneth Mazik, 25, of Chadds Ford, crashed through a gate on March 1 and led police on a runway chase at speeds topping 100 mph.

PLANO, Texas-- Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc.' s net income climbed 16 percent in the third quarter as the company continued to raise prices. The company, which makes 7 Up, Sunkist, Mott's and other drinks, earned $179 million, or 84 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That's up from $154 million, or 71 cents per share, a year ago.

Oct 24- General Motors Co said the redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Corvette that goes on sale next year will get a new 450- horsepower V8 engine. The engine, designated LT1, displaces 6.2 liters and is the fifth generation of GM's ``small block'' V8 engine family.

Oct 24- Visa Inc said Charles Scharf, a former head of JPMorgan Chase& Co's retail financial services division, will succeed Joseph Saunders as chief executive. Scharf is currently managing director at One Equity Partners, which manages $10 billion of investments and commitments for JPMorgan Chase.

*France's Areva, Japan's Toshiba could benefit. BEIJING, Oct 24- China will approve a small number of new nuclear reactors before 2015 to be built only in coastal regions, the government said on Wednesday, as it unveiled a raft of measures to spur private investments in energy.

WASHINGTON, Oct 24- General Dynamics Corp on Wednesday said uncertainty about future U.S. defense budgets affected government orders in its shorter-cycle businesses in the third quarter, driving the number of bids awaiting awards to record levels.

*Ireland set for return to modest economic growth. LONDON, Oct 24- The euro zone's most vulnerable economies, particularly Spain, face a much tougher 2013 than thought just three months ago, marked by prolonged recession and ever-rising unemployment, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.